Movie Review – The Beekeeper

I have a fondness for revenge-porn movies like this, but this movie didn’t execute anything new or entertaining for me. It’s basically a connect-the-dots level plot. It seems obvious that the idea for this movie came when Kurt Wimmer (script writer) read that …some bees are queen slayers, which will rise up and kill their queen if she fails to produce the wrong kind of male offspring. And then used that factoid as the basis for an entire movie.

Kurt Wimmer has written some good scripts in the past, such as Equilibrium, SALT (loved it) and Law Abiding Citizen, which is, in my opinion, one of the jewels of the revenge-port genre. But then there’s the Point Break remake which didn’t impress and Expend4bles, which according to the Peeple’s Poll was the worst movie of 2023. Kurt is definitely a hit and miss script writer. I would personally love to understand how someone can write a great script for a movie and then follow it up with a pile of shit script.

Good writers write, great writers steal

In every movie that has a badass character there has to be a scene that sets them up. Usually it’s an action scene where we see the character perform some act of violence that shows the audience what a character is capable of. But in the John Wick movie there’s an example of an even better way to achieve this effect. Instead of seeing John Wick in action we see another character, the father (mafia boss), about to kill another character (the mechanic) for mistreating his son. When the father finds out that this is all because his son crossed John Wick the father completely changes his tune. The reaction of the father tells us everything we need to know about John Wick.

The same approach is used three times in The Beekeeper. This is something that works great if you do it the right way just once. But three times, it becomes a cliche of itself. That’s the sort of script this movie has to work with.

Who to kill and who to let go

Another character-building ploy is to show the badasses ethics by who they injure/kill and who they let go. It bothered me throughout the movie that so many security guards, FBI agents, Secret Service agents, etc. were treated. These are prop characters that are on a job. They didn’t do anything wrong. They’re either security guards trying to earn a paycheck or government agents who, ostensibly, are no different than soldiers, working for the safety and security of their country.

Adam Clay (Jason Statham) goes through the security agents were killed or horribly injured just for trying to do their job. At the same time, Clay lets dozens of employees who steal from the elderly just walk away. He even tells them they can walk away even after he sees them celebrating as they fleece an elderly person.

Bad Casting

I really thought Josh Hutcherson was horribly cast as Derek Danforth. Either he can’t pull off being that sleazy, or, more likely, I still see too much of Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games in him. At any rate, there are better actors around to cast as sleaze bags.

The other Beekeeper

One last complaint. What was up with the other Beekeeper character? Shouldn’t a beekeeper be a person who at least tries to keep a low profile? They should have been portrayed as something similar to a ninja: get in, do the job, leave and never let anyone be the wiser. But somehow, this other beekeeper was an over-the-top lunatic with a minigun. Not subtle at all. In a world where this Beekeeper agency exists it wouldn’t last long if she’s out killing people for all the world to see. That’s just not really well thought world-building.

Grade: D+

About The Peetimes: I think the 2nd Peetime is the best one of the bunch. It’s plenty long and is mostly a bunch of dialog that is easy to summarize.

There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of The Beekeeper.

Rated:	(R) Pervasive Language | Drug Use | Some Sexual References | Strong Violence Throughout
Genres:	Action, Thriller
Starring:	Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Bobby Naderi
Director:	David Ayer
Writer(s):	Kurt Wimmer
Language:	English
	Country:	United Kingdom, United States

Plot
In The Beekeeper, one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers”.